On a sunny day with no north wind at the end of October, there is movement on the promenade and beach of Riells de l'Escala. Nothing to do with the summer months, but along its sandy beaches there are elderly people and families with children who have taken advantage of the autumn school holidays in France to visit their second home on the Costa Brava.
This is the case of Jacqueline Milherat, from Ariège, with a house in the area for a decade, who has accompanied her grandchildren to get their feet wet. “I come for four weeks in August, one in July, a few days in October and November, at Christmas and also in April,” she says. Lying on a bench on the promenade, nonagenarian Paulette Gentilhomme lets herself be caressed by its breeze. “This is my little paradise, mine and my family's,” emphasizes the elderly woman, who lives in the Loire region. For 55 years now, l'Escala has become her second home for three months of the low season. “My children and grandchildren enjoy it from June to August, and I in May, September and October,” she explains.
French families and retirees, but also Catalans, are a majority profile of second homes. “In 1970 and 1980, many French people bought houses, the franc/peseta exchange rate was very favorable to them,” explains Jordi López, who watches life go by from one of the benches on Riells Avenue. Of the 12,500 registered residents of the municipality, more than 900 have French nationality.
The Frenchman continues to be a majority client for real estate agencies, according to Finques Ballesta. “There are also Belgians and Dutch interested in houses and Catalans, in apartments,” point out the Fonti Nugué real estate agency. Many now prefer the old town more than the urbanizations. They are right, as many buildings turn into ghost blocks in winter. In front of the marina, in a 148-story building, the concierge says that only eight are occupied all year round. Teia Pascual, a resident of Girona, is alone on her landing in October. Since she retired, she spends long periods in the second home she bought 30 years ago.
The businesses near Riells beach open in October are few. “In winter this area is a bit scary, it is very isolated,” says a maintenance person in the area. Nothing to see when in summer l'Escala reaches peaks of up to 70,000 people.
